How about a SICK DAY CARE:

[yasir]

Guys,
I am a Pediatrician and i am currently building an office with approx 4000 sq space available for lease.What do you all think about the idea of opening up a day care that has both a well and a sick part ( where kids that are sick can stay until their parents can pick them up after work ) or just open up a sick day care.Here are some pros and cons about the day care thing and of course suggestions are welcome.
Pros:
1)- When kids are sick the families can call the office and authorize us to see the child.This way it would save them the the hassle of taking time off and going to the pediatrician all of which can easily cost them at least half a day of their work if not more.
2)-If i can get the facility approved to keep the sick kids until the parents can pick them up in the eve,won't that be fantastic thing..the parents won't have to leave work yet the child is taken care of..
3)-I think this is the best advertisement the practice can have,the best patient care yet continue to have a steady income from the day care unit..
Cons:
4)-Getting the facility approved to mind the sick kids,have no idea what's involved in the process though..
5)-Staffing could be an issue but i guess i can have few CNA's ( $8-$9/hr-- certified nurse assistants ) and few LPNs ( $ 11-$12 --Licensed practical nurse ) and since i am an MD the whole process can be well taken care of..
So what do you all think about this idea..Any suggestions...
Thanks

[sammyg2]

My kid's pediatrician did exactly that, he has two sides to his office. one side for well care, the other for sick care. It works.

[gr8fl4porsche]

I'm not sure how the sick day care only thing would work out. You can only have 4-5 children per attendant (for the little ones) and if its sick only how do you know how many nurses to schedule. Seems like you would either be overstaffed or turning children away.

Now the idea of a dual daycare that also takes care of the kids on sick days sounds good. At our daycare if they run a fever we have to pick them up immediately and they cannot come back until the fever has subsided for 24 hours.

[yasir]

Originally posted by gr8fl4porsche
[B]I'm not sure how the sick day care only thing would work out. You can only have 4-5 children per attendant (for the little ones) and if its sick only how do you know how many nurses to schedule. Seems like you would either be overstaffed or turning children away.

/B]

This is the only glitch that i see so far and to tell you the truth i don't have the answer either...I'd say i would need at least 3-4 rooms mainly for 4 most common diseases such as 1)-pink eye 2)-fever 3 )-bronchiolitis ( RSV ) and a 4 th one for Vomiting/diarrhea ( rota virus ). I don't really need an RN ( my office manager is an RN ) and can pretty much look after any issue so all i need is few CNAs along with regular day care staff..
The problem is do i want to run another business or not and what ever the answer might be i would say the idea is great,agreed or not...
Later

[Oh Haha]

The daycare thing is EXACTLY why my wife is going to stay home with our two kids. Our son was constantly sick when he was in daycare. We found out later that one parent would drop her sicka$$ kid off no mwtter what. Jacob has not been sick since we pulled him out.

BTW-This idea sounds like a great plan!!!! Hopefully, you can get the word out. This would be fantastic for parents in your area.

[cstreit]

I wouldn't drop my sick kid off at the place... What if he had a cold? Do I want him in the room with the fevers and whooping cough and the other typhiod-mini's there...?

Probably not. I think it's a cool idea but what about cross-contaminiation? Maybe that's not a big issue, and your goal is better day-care for those sick kids, but you'd have to convince parents that there kids won't get MORE sick.

[HardDrive]

My wife is a doc at Childrens in Seattle. I'll see if she has any words of wisdom in the morning.....

[livi]

As a fellow pediatrician and father of four I think your idea carry a lot of merit.

A few spontaneous thoughts (mostly covered above):

You will need to attend to some kind of barrier nursing. At least separating the RS from the Rota. We are all aching for a safe, reliable vaccine for those, are we not ! You don´t want to leave your kid with vomiting and diarrhea just to catch bronchiolitis too (or vice versa).

Staffing will be crucial. Preferably people with pediatric ward experience (and a good portion of patience and empathy) - we all know what it take to take care of a sick child especially void of its parents!

To what extent are you planning on acute treatment ? Inhalations / re-hydration ? A sealed chamber with room for 6-8 kids with obstructive airway viral disease - air filled with a bronchodilatating aerosol !

[Icemaster]

Is this supposed to be just a stop-gap measure until the parents get done for the day, or can they drop teh sick kid off the next day?

The concept of it sounds good, but the principle need for it bothers me...kids come first.

[livi]

Next project step:

Leave when they get sick and pick up when well again. Pay per day.

[gr8fl4porsche]

Originally posted by Icemaster
Is this supposed to be just a stop-gap measure until the parents get done for the day, or can they drop teh sick kid off the next day?

The concept of it sounds good, but the principle need for it bothers me...kids come first.

I tend to agree with this sentiment - this week I took off Thursday afternoon and all of Friday to take care of my sick daughter. I'm not complaining at all - I enjoyed it but some folks who work by the hour could not afford to take off whenever their little one sneezes.

[on-ramp]

i havent read the entire thread, but how much does Liability Insurance cost for this?

[cstreit]

Originally posted by livi
Next project step:

Leave when they get sick and pick up when well again. Pay per day.

A kinder-care leper colony? Sick...

[id10t]

Do it like a regular daycare, only they show up when ill. Have a monthly/yearly subscription cost (constant inflow of $ when everyone is healthy) and then a daily fee for when they actually use it.

[gaijindabe]

This is bad for parents. Dont take care of the kids when they are home sick - they may not return the favor when Mom & Pops gets old and grey...